Apple is intensifying efforts to upgrade Siri into a more autonomous and powerful AI assistant that can rival products from OpenAI and Meta, targeting significant new features in the coming months and next year.
- Siri’s new features include detailed control over Apple apps like Photos and Safari by early 2027.
- Spring 2027 update expected to introduce integration with third-party apps such as Grubhub and OpenTable.
- Apple plans to make Siri more agentic, enabling it to manage and pursue multi-step tasks autonomously.
What happened
Apple CEO John Ternus is driving efforts to accelerate Siri’s AI development to better compete with AI assistants like OpenAI’s Dots and Meta’s Muse. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple AI chief Craig Federighi has delivered a functional Siri upgrade on a tight schedule, but the company acknowledges it needs to catch up with rivals in sophistication and autonomy.
Two major improvements are slated for launch soon: one giving Siri fine-tuned control over Apple’s native apps, enabling new capabilities such as image editing and tab management, expected with the iOS 27.3 update; and a larger update in Spring 2027 that will add third-party app integration, allowing users to place orders or make reservations through voice commands.
Why it matters
As consumer expectations for AI assistants evolve, simple voice commands are no longer sufficient. Siri’s upcoming upgrades aim to shift its role from a reactive tool that handles individual requests to a proactive agent that can manage ongoing objectives and multi-step workflows. This agentic ability is becoming a defining feature in the competitive landscape of AI assistants.
By enhancing Siri’s control over both Apple and third-party apps, Apple positions itself to deepen the utility and convenience of its assistant across its ecosystem and beyond. This is critical in maintaining user engagement and relevance as rivals deploy increasingly sophisticated AI that can autonomously track and execute complex tasks without constant user prompts.
What to watch next
Industry watchers should monitor Apple’s rollout of iOS 27.3 to evaluate the new Siri capabilities within Apple apps like Photos and Safari. Early adoption and user feedback will offer insights into how well the improvements perform in everyday use and their impact on user satisfaction.
The bigger milestone will be the Spring 2027 update introducing third-party app integration. This will mark a key step toward the fully agentic Siri that can autonomously navigate cross-platform tasks. Observers will want to track the pace and scope of this integration and how it positions Siri against offerings from OpenAI, Meta, and emerging AI assistants.